Tony
Allen is the Nigerian-born drummer, composer and songwriter
who, along with Fela Kuti, pioneered afrobeat music, a new blend
of jazz and traditional African juju and highlife, in the mid-1960s.
Tony learnt to play drums when he was a radio technician at
about the age of 18. He has his own unique style, using his
4 limbs, not his whole body! He started to play jazz together
with Fela in 1964. Fela and Tony continued to develop the afrobeat
sound in 1969 when they went to USA and met many top black American
musicians. Tony was not only Fela's lead drummer but also had
the very important role of musical director of the band Fela
Kuti & Africa 70. Many of their original vinyl recordings
from the 1970s, such as Jealousy and Progress,
No Accomodation for Lagos and No Discrimination,
have been reissued on CD. Tony decided to leave Fela in the
late 1970s. Later he moved to Europe where he collaborated with
many top musicians like Manu Dibango,
Ray Lema and Roy Ayers and spear-headed the successful NEPA
(Never Expect Power Always) project. Indeed Tony features on
Manu Dibango's Wakafrika CD. The amazing album Black
Voices was released in 1999 and once again Tony records
with many other top musicians. He wants to fuse afrobeat with
modern music like funk, rock
and hip-hop, hence he has been working
with people
like Doctor L for the recording Black Voicesand they also both appear on Psycho On
Da Bus. He believes that, despite
its complexity, afrobeat is gaining

popularity. Tony often performs with his own band but also can
still be found alongside Manu Dibango,
for example, at the Barbican in London in April 2001. He is,
without doubt, extraordinary, full of funky, groovy rhythms
as well as outstanding, hard-hitting lyrics. Look out for his
CD, Home Cooking (2002)! Tony was one of the nominees
for the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards for 2003 in the Africa
category, and he performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival 2003.
Now with his album Secret Agent, in 2010 Tony performed
at WOMAD and he celebrates his 70th birthday with a tour and
concert at the Barbican with special guests.